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| Thread ID: 75525 | 2007-01-01 19:17:00 | How not to buy a DVD Hard Drive Recorder | Strommer (42) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 511762 | 2007-01-02 23:19:00 | Heh, What utter crap are you people recording from TV?, and paying $750 bucks to do it. TV 1, midnight to 6 AM, BBC. Some good programs there - news, docos, interviews. Sometimes 60 Minutes and other TV1 and TV 3 documentaries. Then there are the health and self improvement programs - I cannot bother to sit for an hour but using the FFWD button takes me quickly to the intelligent info. And hey, even Dr. Who. :lol: But mainly it is a pleasure watching a recording in order to avoid adverts. Unless I get credit card crazy, I do not intend to splash out much more than $500 on a DVD HD Recorder and even that makes me wince. Your idea of building a new PC for $750 - of course this is a great idea but while I have TV on my PC I have rarely watched anything as I much prefer sitting comfortably on the sofa. |
Strommer (42) | ||
| 511763 | 2007-01-03 00:06:00 | Heh, What utter crap are you people recording from TV?, and paying $750 bucks to do it. Madness. Anyhow, The next PC I throw together will control the TV, Probably go for 400Gb HD, Hardware mpeg encoder,DVD Burner etc etc and still only cost $750 in total....and of course have a secondary screen for general PC usage. One mans crap is another mans treasure... well you know what I mean. I have recorded some excellent programmes off TV, one "Test Pilot", recorded I think in the 80's (yes almost 20 years ago), is an great series. Now do you know what the only aircraft which is certified to do an inverted spin? Although using a pc to do it is one solution, in practice a dedicated unit usually does a better job and doesn't use as much power, is quieter etc etc |
dolby digital (5073) | ||
| 511764 | 2007-01-03 00:31:00 | I had a PC set up a few years ago, and although it had all the same functions as our current DVD recorder, the other non tech savy members of the household didnt like it. Why? -The case was a normal ATX case - it didnt fit into out cabinet - getting a nice case that would (ie a Silverstone one), cost by itself $300 - already half the cost of a DVD Recorder. - Noise - without spending money buying quiet fans/water cooling/wat eva, the thing was a noise beast (and recording tv on PC isnt light on the CPU (especially with a analogue based contoller)) - The Remote - Didnt have all the features close to hand - sure we could stick a keyboard there but who wants a keyboard floating around on the coffee table. So although for $700 ish you could get a PC which could do the job, if you wanted the same type of integreation as the box you would need to pay much more. |
noone (22) | ||
| 511765 | 2007-01-03 03:08:00 | Steve, I came to the same conclusion about digital / analogue tv before buying an hd recorder. By the time I get it I will be after a new recorder. | wotz (335) | ||
| 511766 | 2007-01-03 03:14:00 | If you want to record two channels at once then the only option here in nz is to purchase mysky which will cost you $599 to get installed but thats the only option until something better comes along. | Hitech (9024) | ||
| 511767 | 2007-01-03 03:40:00 | Good point, Mac. I just looked in the Philips DVDR3455H User Manual and there is no digital indication under specifications. Most of us will have to buy a digital decoder set top box (supposedly around $200) to get our TVs to receive digital broadcasts. Would this work for non-digital DVD recorders? You will need a set top box per device that you want to watch or record to.. Gets expensive without built in digital tuners. That's why I'm still using my VCR and analog 29' TV.. |
paulw (1826) | ||
| 511768 | 2007-01-03 06:17:00 | first the normal TV 1, 2, 3 and Prime will go digital but I see no advantage to this if a person already has clear reception.If they have 100% perfect reception and a 4:3 television then yes you are right (though I've never met anyone with perfect reception). Also, don't forget about widescreen and the EPG features. :) | maccrazy (6741) | ||
| 511769 | 2007-01-03 07:07:00 | Also, don't forget about widescreen and the EPG features. :) EPG ?? Widescreen - will all free to air digital broadcasts be in widescreen - with also the option for normal size? |
Strommer (42) | ||
| 511770 | 2007-01-03 09:37:00 | EPG - Electronic Programming Guide - Basically a interactive TV guide, where you can see whats coming on TV and decide what to record/what to watch (ie breakdown by time/channel/genre etc)... Its integrated with Windows Media Center ATM, and with a bit of haggling you can get it to work in NZ | noone (22) | ||
| 511771 | 2007-01-03 09:48:00 | EPG is available as a matter of course with TelstraClear cable (Saturn TV). | TideMan (4279) | ||
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